


May 2015

by HDea



Series: Ace in Hand [3]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Coffee breaks, Gen, Sleep Deprivation, Threats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-09
Updated: 2014-01-09
Packaged: 2018-01-08 02:04:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1127095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HDea/pseuds/HDea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The weather was nice enough now that they could take breaks to get coffee without having to spend hours layering up.  Most of the blueprints were already sent out and now there were fewer things to do.  Fewer projects happening simultaneously.  They could take extended breaks when code was running instead of rushing to another console to write the next code.  Coffee errands were less often done at Allison’s insistence than it was done as a self-imposed break system.  Quick walks to the coffee station in the next building over to regain their sanity.  </p>
<p>Sanity!  They might be sane!  It was really touch-and-go there for a while.</p>
<p>It was during one of these walks that what would later be known at the Anchorage Shatterdome as “The Clarke Incident” happened.  There were several versions of the story that floated around the dome, each one more ridiculous than the last.  Apparently she had threatened a pilot?  Or charmed a snake? Or murdered a marine?  Or turned into a dragon?  Nothing really made sense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	May 2015

**Author's Note:**

> This was a scene that was cut from Chapter 5 of Ace in Hand because it just didn't make sense to put it there.

Anchorage, Alaska  
May 2015

The weather was nice enough now that they could take breaks to get coffee without having to spend hours layering up. Most of the blueprints were already sent out and now there were fewer things to do. Fewer projects happening simultaneously. They could take extended breaks when code was running instead of rushing to another console to write the next code. Coffee errands were less often done at Allison’s insistence than it was done as a self-imposed break system. Quick walks to the coffee station in the next building over to regain their sanity. 

Sanity! They might be sane! It was really touch-and-go there for a while.

It was during one of these walks that what would later be known at the Anchorage Shatterdome as “The Clarke Incident” happened. There were several versions of the story that floated around the dome, each one more ridiculous than the last. Apparently she had threatened a pilot? Or charmed a snake? Or murdered a marine? Or turned into a dragon? Nothing really made sense.

Vanessa was pretty sure that none of _those_ stories had actually happened, but she wasn’t really sure. Even though she was the main character in all of them, she just didn’t really remember the details.

\-----

It was sometime around 6 or 7pm and Vanessa could not remember the last time she had slept. It’s not like she was particularly worried about it. There was an issue with balance in the legs of the Jaeger that they were working on that needed to be sorted right away. Yesterday. Last year even. 

The hunched posture of the torso due to the bladed, pincer arms was causing all of their simulations to fall over when any sort of turning motion was done. She felt like a solution was dancing around the edges of her brain. Once she figured it out, she could throw it in SolidWorks and the rest of the team could do their magic. The construction teams were almost done machining and putting together the other components. Caitlin was already running tests on her Pons system using a single constructed arm that spanned the length of a normal hangar. The Jaeger needed to be finished in time for the UN Demo. She needed to do this. 

She needed a break.

The fresh air was nice and the coffee in its paper cup was warm in her hands as she made her way back to the research facility. It was after normal hours, so the area was fairly deserted. A few stragglers were around, getting out of their shifts late, but otherwise it was quiet.

Quiet enough that Vanessa could hear the argument before she turned the corner to get to the front of the research facility. Unknown voices always made her feel uncomfortable. She started tapping her fingers against the coffee cup in her hands.

“C’mon baby, it’s after hours.”

“No, I’m going home.”

“Don’t be that way, sweet cheeks. We just wanna have a good time with you.”

“I said _no._ ”

That was Allison’s voice, and what was being said did not make Vanessa feel better. She clenched her jaw and frowned at her hands before looking up. It was Allison and three very large men. At least, they seemed large from this distance. Allison was so tiny that everyone looked gigantic next to her. They were probably normal sized, right?

“You said no last time.”

“It’s been a long day. I just want to go home, okay?”

This felt wrong. Everything was wrong. Was she asleep? _This is a terrible dream. I’m probably asleep under my desk. Should I say something? Yes No Yes NO YES NO yes no yes?_

“Is everything okay, Allison?” Her voice shook when she called out and she bit her lip to try and steady herself. This situation can’t be as bad as it sounds.

“This is a _private_ conversation.”

“No, it isn’t. I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Just let her go.” Her voice is steady this time, but her hands are shaking more and more as she gets closer. Allison just needs to go home and Vanessa needs to get inside the building. Everything will be fine.

“ _This is none of your business._ ” The ring leader of the trio snarled.

After that, things get a bit hazy. 

Vanessa could remember feeling upset. 

Angry. 

She could remember that the man was around the same height as her. Maybe an inch or two taller or shorter. Close enough in height that she knew that his eyes were either blue or gray. It was hard to be sure.

She could remember yelling. He was yelling. She was yelling. Everyone was yelling.

Then her knife was in her hand, warm from being in her pocket and familiar to her fingers.

And then it was over. The men were gone. Stacker was there – when did he get there? – and his shirt felt warm and wet against her cheek and he was saying something about going home. But no, no, no, Vanessa needed to work. She needed to go back and drink her coffee and fix her legs. Where did her coffee go? She tried to ask, but when she tilted her head to look at him it was morning and she was in her bed at home.

There was a post-it note on her clock that told her to stay at home until Allison came to pick her up, scrawled out in Stacker’s terrible handwriting. 

By the time that Allison rang the doorbell, Vanessa had figured out how the legs needed to move – double jointed knees that allowed the torso to lower and not bend forward causing the jaeger to overbalance. There were sketches all over the floor and free-body diagrams next to back-of-the-envelope calculations. Her numbers would have to be checked, but it looked like it would work. 

Allison refused to talk about what happened. She just smiled, hugged Vanessa so tightly around the waist that it was impossible to breathe, and said “Don’t worry about it, Mami. Everything is good.”

No one would tell her specifically what happened when she arrived at work that afternoon either. Apparently she fainted and Stacker took her home. Maybe she got sick?

Everyone was in a strange mood. Hermann would look at her with a tight look when he thought she wasn’t looking and quickly looked away when he thought she was. Krunal and Tim stared at her blankly for a while before they remembered that they should be working. Sunny was downright _pleasant_ to be around and didn’t complain about the work he was given. _If fainting it all it takes to shut him up, I should practice faking it._

Then there was the strangest part: there were flowers on her desk. A bouquet of six red roses, without a card. No one would say anything to her about those either, but everyone did stare. Maybe they didn’t know either.

Every day after that a different bouquet of flowers would show up at the office. Lilies and Daisies and things that she didn’t know the name of. It was _weird._ She had to put the flowers in the break room because they just confused her whenever she looked at them. Why was she getting them? Her birthday was in April, so that wasn’t it. The designs weren’t finished, so that wasn’t it. Was it because she fainted? Did she hurt herself? Why wasn’t there a card? Didn’t flowers usually come with a card like on TV?

It took a week before she figured out what the flowers were about. It took that long to finalize the work on the legs and get the blueprints sent off. 

To celebrate having all of the blueprints sent in, they went to the canteen together for lunch. It was strange to be outside with her entire team at the same time – during daylight! – and they were grinning as they shoveled overcooked pasta and undercooked tater-tots into their mouths. Nothing existed outside of their table.

That was probably why she didn’t notice the people behind her.

“Excuse me, Ma’am? …I mean, Miss?”

Vanessa didn’t move when she heard this. She didn’t stop what she was doing. And why would she? People only referred to her as “Vanessa” or “Clarke”, sometimes “Doctor.” Instead, Allison looked up and her eyes got real big and she stared at something behind Vanessa. 

That was interesting.

So she turned to follow her gaze, fork in her mouth, and looked up to see a small crowd of soldiers.

“Weird.” And then she turned back to her food.

_“Vanessa!”_ Allison hissed at her.

“What?”

“Ahem… uh, Miss Clarke?” 

_Oh. That’s really weird._ She turned around again as Sunny cut in like the ass he was.

“That’s _Doctor_ Clark to you. Show some respect, you shit.”

There was some kind of commotion at the table, but Vanessa didn’t notice because she was trying to figure out if she knew who this person was.

“Oh, uh, Dr. Clark. Sorry, Ma’am.” He was blushing. Getting titles mixed up was awkward. At least it made Vanessa feel awkward, so she understood completely.

“No big. What’s up? D’ya need something?” He looked sort of familiar, but not really. Maybe it was the fact that everyone was wearing the same uniform and had the same haircut, but everyone on the base has been looking the same to her. He was just another white guy surrounded by more white guys. 

_ohmigawd, does that make me a racist?_

And so she was having an internal crisis about whether or not she had accidentally become a racist – is that even possible? Was she always racist, or just now? How can you tell? Do racists know they are racist? – while the young man in front of her rubbed the back of his neck and stuttered something out. Something she missed entirely.

“Wait, what?” _oh shit, I’m totally a racist, why didn’t anyone tell me?_

Her confusion came out as a weird outburst which made the man stand up at fuller attention and turn completely red.

“I’m very sorry about what happened, Ma’am – DOCTOR! I hope that you can forgive me, _didyougettheflowers?”_

“Huh…Flowers? Oh! That was you?”

“Yes… were they all right?”

“For what?” Why did he buy her flowers? Should she know why? Was she supposed to do something with them? Is it worse that she doesn’t know why she got them or that she might be a secret racist? Does it matter if both are true?

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”

She looked over to see Stacker striding quickly toward her with Tamsin chasing after him.

“Hey Jenga.” He didn’t seem to notice her as he walked right up into the man’s face and stared him down.

“What are you doing?”

“A-Apologizing, Sir!”

“Is he giving you trouble, Vanessa?”

“No? I don’t really know. Are you?” Her question was genuine, but maybe it came out weird because he went from bright red to sheet white.

“No! Never! I wouldn’t-“

“Go. NOW.” And Stacker didn’t have to say it twice. He was gone. The whole group vanished and the canteen went silent.

“That was weird. What just happened?”

Stacker just shook his head, muttered “Don’t worry about it”, and kissed her on the temple before sharing a look with Hermann and leaving to get a tray of food for himself. Tamsin trailed behind him, having a one sided argument as she tried to match pace with his long stride.

“That was weird, right?” Everyone at the table just looked at her like she was crazy, which wasn’t too strange of an occurrence in itself. Whatever. She stuffed another forkful of food in her mouth before saying the next thing on her mind.

“So, weird question: Would you guys tell me if I was a racist?”

**Author's Note:**

> This will have a second part in Stacker's POV. Sooooon.


End file.
